FORT MYERS, Fla — The future of the Hall of 50 States is stirring up a lot of strong opinions.
FOX 4 attended a meeting where the selection committee approved a plan to send to the city council.
The response from the people who were at the meeting was overwhelming.
The city of Fort Myers selection committee approved recommending a plan to bring living space where the Hall of 50 States currently lives.
The recommendation will be presented to the city council at the next meeting.
On Wednesday, FOX 4 was the first to take youinside the Hall of 50 Statesto see its conditions, which have been closed for two decades.
On Friday, we connected with Atlantic Realty Partners CEO Richard Arronson, who wants to replace the Hall of 50 States and build 250 apartments/condos with retail spaces.
"There's a meaningful amount of real estate taxes that are going to be added to the overall budget of the city," says Arronson. "But more importantly, by bringing people downtown to live."
During the meeting, it was said the building could be demolished, but Arronson would work to preserve the roof and transfer it to the IMAG.
"It would be nice to save it, but can you actually save it?" says a selection committee member Steve Belden.
The people in the crowd said saving it should be a priority.
"Lee Trust is here to speak to save the Hall of 50 States, period," says Dr. Virgina Harper.
Among the ideas the committee passed on, Jim Becker proposed his recording studio and preserving the entire building.
He wants to bring concerts and opportunities for artists from near and far to use the space.
"I brought all the subs, and got each one of them to give me a bid, you know, for the cement work, the tile, the bathrooms, the carpenter work, bathroom" and more. He says that his contractor estimated it to be around 600 thousand.
Another proposal was from a Virtual Reality/AI business that is working to bring art and an educational component to the building.
Vincent Butta, the owner of the business, says that the building should be preserved, and in his proposal, that was his vision.
"I told this to the folks of Fort Myers, like you are the center of innovation, and you don't realize it this was one of the best innovators ever in the world history and why should this not be there," says Butta. "You should take advantage of that."
Next, the council will decide if apartments are the future of the land -- or they will go through another round of proposals.
